Destination Maternity Reports Q1 Loss

Philadelphia Destination Maternity said Tuesday that net sales for the first fiscal quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2008, decreased 5.6% to $134.8 million, from $142.9 million for the same time frame a year ago.

Same-store sales across 964 locations decreased 0.5%, compared to a 4.1% dip for across 1,352 stores during the first quarter of 2008. The company’s net income before a goodwill impairment charge was $0.1 million. This was an improvement over last year’s net loss of $0.4 million loss in the first quarter of 2008.

The retailer continues to reduce expenses and “control markdown levels while still reducing inventory levels,” said Ed Krell, CEO, Destination Maternity.

“This plan produced better-than-planned gross margin performance and lower-than-planned expenses for the first quarter,” he said. “This operational and financial control enabled us to beat our earnings guidance even with sales missing our guidance."